


it needs to be exposed

by EJ (girlwitham4carbine)



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Blood, Game Spoilers, Gore, I tried to make this as sad as possible, M/M, Outlast AU, because I am a depraved motherfucker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-28
Updated: 2014-07-28
Packaged: 2018-02-10 20:07:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2038371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlwitham4carbine/pseuds/EJ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn’t supposed to end this way.</p><p>They were supposed to make it out of here, with enough information to take down the Murkoff Corporation and this godforsaken asylum with it.</p><p>They were both supposed to be alive and well.</p><p>Adam wasn’t supposed to be lying on the floor in a sea of blood while that thing tore up every human in sight (well, every human except for Joel it seemed).</p>
            </blockquote>





	it needs to be exposed

**Author's Note:**

> Did someone say Joellis Outlast AU? …no? Good!  
> cross posted here: http://ejraptor.tumblr.com/post/93051660469/it-needs-to-be-exposed-or-that-outlast-au-no-one-asked

It wasn't supposed to end this way.

They were supposed to make it out of here, with enough information to take down the Murkoff Corporation and this godforsaken asylum with it.

They were both supposed to be  _alive and well_.

Adam wasn't supposed to be lying on the floor in a sea of blood while that  _thing_  tore up every human in sight (well, every human except for Joel it seemed).

They came to Mount Massive on a single lead, bringing only a single camera and not nearly enough AA batteries to run it for long. The email they received that morning was strange to say the least; a man claiming to have worked as a software developer at the institution tipped them off to some.. illegal things happening there. He was very clear in his dislike of what was going on, if “fuck those guys” was anything to go by. The final line of the email simply stated that “it needs to be exposed”. Joel nor Adam were the type to back down from a case this huge, especially when it involved a renowned charity organization. They were two of the best investigative reporters on the city paper for a reason of course. So they hopped in their truck and took the long bumpy drive out to Mount Massive, managing to make it just after nightfall.

They honestly should have realized something wasn't quite right when the radio fizzled to static just before they reached the gates (the abandoned military vehicles in the courtyard an even more obvious clue that something was seriously awry). But Adam held Joel’s hand in his and gave him that bright smile that told him everything would be okay.

And Joel had always believed in Adam.

But eventually, the constant mantra of  _everything is going to be okay_  started to lose its effect. They found the bodies strung around the library and the man impaled by an iron pole, coughing up blood and somehow still alive. He told them to get the fuck out of there, that “The Variants” had escaped and were coming after every single one of them.

They tried to run; they tried and tried and lord, did they try. The doors and windows they went through locked behind them, forcing them further and further into the walls of the asylum than either man was very comfortable with. Joel’s paranoia was through the roof, his eyes wide and body shaking enough that the other man could see it in the shoddy lighting of the corridors. Adam constantly assured him that they would make it out alright, that there was no way they would run into one of those Variants guys before they could get out.

They were in the hallway above what looked like the atrium, trying to asses their next plan of action and escape when it happened. Out of the corner of his eye, Adam swore he saw a giant of a man slip into a set of double doors further down the hallway. Joel said he was full of shit. For god’s sake, both of them were at least 6 foot, how could anyone be a giant compared to them? He didn’t want to think Adam could be right, he was damn scared to. So he began to shimmy through two overturned bookshelves to continue on in hopes of another way out.

He was about to urge the other man forward as well, when he felt something hit his shoulder in a vice-like grip. The last thing he remembered was the terrified look in Adam’s eyes accompanied by the growl of “ _little pigs_ " in his ears before he smashed through glass and fell into black.

///

They believed it was finally over when they watched the man in the life support machine become surrounded by his own blood. Joel almost cheered, the traumatic ordeal and blood loss having worn him down enough to make watching a man die seem like a victory. And considering all the shit they’d been through, it was a victory.

They watched the big fucking guy- who they learned through various hidden documents was once a man by the name of Chris Walker- get ground into hunks of discolored flesh, painting the white walls of the laboratory a stark red.

They watched Father Martin- who called them apostles, their saviors,  _The Chosen Ones_ for crying out loud- become consumed by flames and slowly charred as he was crucified in the name of a noble sacrifice.

They watched the “Doctor”- who had sawed off their fingers and collected them as if they were a prize- fall limp as his body was sliced in half by the elevator.

They watched each other nearly collapse under the pressure, hot tears and shaking wails replacing their loving smiles and hushed whispers. It broke them inside to realize that they might never be able to return to normal after this was over.

And they truly believed it was finally over.

But then Adam was hurled across the lab like a ragdoll, his screams bouncing across the equipment as he was strung high above the ground like a trapped animal. Joel could do nothing more than cry out, his feeble attempts at words only equating to begging for the creature to  _just let him live, please for the love of God **let him live** -_

His body slammed down onto the hard concrete floor, no more bellows or shrieks from Adam or The Walrider, casting the room into a deafening silence. Joel forced his limbs to cooperate, dragging himself across the floor to the crumpled form before him. It didn’t even register that he had started to cry, long used to the feeling of aching heat stinging his cheek bones.

"Adam.. please don’t leave me. Not here, not alone. Adam,  _don’t give up on me_ -!”

There was a low groan, rumbling deep from the younger’s throat. His brow wrinkled in pain as his eyes forced themselves open. Joel was sitting over him and countless tears mixed with the blood and grime stained his lovely face. Adam felt his mouth twist into a small smile at the sight of his partner, his love. A small flood of relief washed over the both of them and Joel let his body slump, shaking and shivering and burying his face deep into Adam’s chest.

"I’m not giving up on you."

When Joel finally moved back to look down at Adam, everything seemed fuzzy. Like an out of focus photograph, or something too far away to make out all of the details. He could have sworn the man’s eyes had turned a milky white, nothing close to the deep blue he loved to get lost in during late nights in the office. But Joel couldn’t find it in himself to care; once more, he chalked it up to the blood still escaping where his index finger should be. And none of it mattered. Having Adam back did.

Getting the fuck out of there did.

They limped back out into the hall, supporting each other as best as they possibly could in such battered states. It was slow, even a few measly feat feeling like a thousand miles because of the pain. Joel kept his arms tight around Adam, making sure his legs didn’t buckle underneath him as they made their way to the true exit.

They didn’t get much further before a set of doors they barely paid heed to before (in their desperate attempts to escape The Walrider and any Variants) slid open. Joel was staring down the barrel of an automatic assault rifle, past it more men dressed in heavy body armor with even more guns poised right at their heads. Adam quickly moved himself forward, trying to put Joel behind him and space between the guards and the older man. Shots rang out, Joel’s mind barely having enough time to catch up before he knew he was falling.

Adam took Joel with him, their bodies careening back onto the cold floor that at this point felt even more familiar than each other. Something wet and warm tickled his side and Joel wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and imagine they were back at home, in their bed together with Adam’s arms around him holding him steady. Somewhere safe, and not in this horrible place.

But then his mind finally caught up and realized that it was blood caressing him so gently (as if death was holding him closely itself) and that he hadn’t been the one shot.

_Adam._

Black swarmed in his vision, only getting worse as he forced his useless body to move towards the other man. He was lying on his back, face scrunched into the cement, blood seeping out from under his form with no signs of stopping.

He was gone.

_Adam was gone._

When he looked up, he saw the men being ripped to shreds before his eyes (maybe The Walrider had taken pity on them, maybe it decided that the men who killed its host weren’t the biggest threat anymore), yet he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

Everything was cold. All warmth left in his body seemed to drain out of him. He couldn’t even feel his fingers, which were clutching the fading warmth of the younger man in the small hope that he was wrong, that Adam was  _just fine_. That any minute, he would sit up and let out that rumble of laughter and smile at Joel like he was the only person in the world. His mind was becoming static, black tinging the edges of his vision. His ears were ringing, the screams of terror from the guards not even piercing the fog that overtook his brain.

Everything was numb.

Just as the darkness was about to swallow him whole, a voice rang out loud and clear through the haze.

“ _ **Joel, I’m not giving up on**_ **you** **.** ”


End file.
